Released in 1983, Dragon's Lair had impressed everyone at the time with its splendid graphics. The good idea was to use a LaserDisc as storage medium to provide a true interactive cartoon. Obviously, it was also necessary that the quality of sequences was up to par and that was the case thanks to the talent of Don Bluth, who had previously worked on major productions such as Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, Pete's Dragon and The Secret of NIMH. Despite its significant production cost ($1.3 million for the 22 minutes of animation that compose the game), Dragon's Lair was a huge success as it brought more than $32 million in revenue in the first eight months of operation. The work began on a follow-up but the collapse of the North American video game market caused the bankruptcy of the animation studio and the sequel would finally be released in 1991. Already at that time, a feature film project was being considered. A script exists since 2003, it's an humorous prequel to the game, telling the life of Dirk from his birth until the time he becomes a knight. Some story boards have been made to sell the idea to production houses, many of them were interested but wanted to make a sequel in computer graphics while Don Bluth absolutely wanted to use traditional cell-based animation. On October 26th, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of a short presentation film that would allow them to convince producers and investors. The goal is to find the right people whom would let them retain full control over their work. The amount to reach is $550,000 by November 26th. The rewards for donors include caps, T-shirts, lanyards, story boards, posters, artbooks, statuettes, drawing classes, etc... We are excited at the prospect of watching Dirk the Daring on the big screen! Donations start at $10, what are you waiting for?

Skullgirls Encore was announced on May 2013. Since this time, many location tests were held, the game was released on PC and consoles but the arcade version was still in development. Since yesterday, japanese players can enjoy the latest version of the game named Skullgirls 2nd Encore for NESiCAxLive. As its title implies, this game is available on Taito's distribution platform. This 2D fighting game is developped by Lab Zero Games (a Californian company). The game is in high-res, it features 6 buttons (3 punchs and 3 kicks) and a Tag Battle system. The music is composed by Michiru Yamana (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) and the game takes place in a "Dark Deco" universe (a mix of gothic and '20s style). There are 14 characters to choose from including the additionnal crowdfunded characters: Fukua, Big Band, Eliza, Beowulf and Robo-Fortune. Skullgirls 2nd Encore for NESiCAxLive is compatible with the NESiCA card and players have access to the following data: title, victory ranking, monthly victory ranking, characters use rate ranking and monthly characters use rate ranking.

reflec BEAT VOLZZA was released in Japan yesterday. 60 new songs are available in this version. Konami adds a new "Slide Object" feature: the player must press and hold the object and slide his finger on it. Thanks to the new grade matching system, it's easier for players to find other players of the same level to play together.

The Paris Games Week will be held at Paris Expo (Porte de Versailles) from October 28th to November 1st. The show opens from 9am to 7pm (except on Sunday where the closure is at 6 pm). This 6th edition will bring together video game fans around many activities dedicated to their passion. They will discover the latest games, 2016 previews and new accessories thanks to manufacturers (Xbox, Nintendo, PlayStation), publishers and developers (Activision, Namco Bandai, Ubisoft...), accessories makers (Big Ben...) and partners (Jeuxvideo.com, Game One...) present at the show. Among the proposed activities are E-sports with the ESWC, the video game World Cup and the ESL Arena where the Tekken 7 World Arcade Championship EU Qualifiers will be played. There is also Paris Games Week Junior totally dedicated to younger players, a space dedicated to games Made in France, an area about jobs in the video game industry to learn about schools and training, the video game library to meet authors, cosplay and an art gallery. A retrogaming zone hosted by the MO5.COM association and Coin-Op Legacy will also be there with console and computer games but also 8 original arcade machines: Pac-Man (1980), Defender (1981), After Burner II (1987), Pang (1989), Point Blank (1994), Super Street Fighter II X: Grand Master Challenge (1994), Super Dodge Ball (1996), Tetris: The Absolute - The Grand Master 2 (2000), as well as Mushihime-sama (2004). A one day ticket costs €16 and €11 for the younger ones (7-18 years).

Drivers rejoice! Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity and Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 DX Plus were spotted in the basement of Las Vegas amusement arcade in London (on Wardour Street). But these are not the only new games in the place, you will also find among others Taiko no Tatsujin 13 and Pump It Up Prime!! So we finally the chance to play Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity in Europe! Let's get back on its history and why we had little chance to see it land here... The first Initial D 8 location tests took place in January 2014, but already at that time, Patrick Michael, heading the R&D department of Sega Amusements Europe has announced in an interview to Eurogamer that "Initial D games are fantastic but they are not made for the Western market, because the vast majority of local players are casual players who do not like to lose and inevitably, it happens often in a 1 on 1 racing game". This is when we realized that the game would never be released there. It must be said that the latest installment to have been officially released in Europe was Initial D 4... Initial D 8 was released in Japan in July 2014. Then it started to appear in the rest of Asia in September 2014. Despite the launch of an English version of the website, this "export" version of the game is in Japanese language (as it was already the case for export versions of Initial D 5, 6 and 7). In April 2013 (at the time of Initial D Arcade Stage 7 AA X), we proposed to Kenji Arai, the producer of the series, to translate the game into English for Sega. He politely declined, indicating that the sales policy for Europe was not established but that if Sega decided to focus in the future on the European market, he would reconsider the offer. Alas, the recent restructuring at Sega is not going in that direction, favouring the creation of games specifically made for the western market (simpler titles suitable to casual players). The only solution was to import the game to allow the many European fans to enjoy the game. Unfortunately, the game is in Japanese but the save card system works. The other good surprise is obviously Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 DX Plus! Unlike Initial D, this game is in English. The "Plus" version released in March 2010 added two new cars: the Nissan GT-R (R35) and Skyline GT-R (KPGC10), the Fukuoka Expressway road section, new tuning elements (stickers, neon tube lights and rims) and new music by Yuzo Koshiro! Currently, there are only two Wangan Midnight cabinets but two other machines should arrive next week for 4-player races. Moreover, monthly tournaments are planned! Racers paradise is therefore situated in the basement of Las Vegas arcade in Soho, London! Let's go there and start racing!!!

KonamiWindy II is an arcade cabinet released in 1997. It was the first cabinet to be equipped with both the new JVS harness and a 29" Tri-sync Toshiba screen capable of displaying a VGA signal. Of course, the JVS standard was not yet widely used, so a JAMMA to JVS converter board was included, allowing the usage of the majority of the games available at that time. The Windy II proposed sockets for connecting several cabinets as a standard. With such great features, no doubt it quickly gained in popularity. We talk about it today because 1cc Shirts releases a T-shirt bearing its image. The Gildan brand white pre-shrunk 100% cotton T-shirt features an illustration of the popular machine on the front. The screen displays the Konami logo of the time. Like all 1cc Shirt models, this T-shirt will be produced in limited edition and will not be reissued. You have until Sunday October 25th at midnight EST (6am CET) to order your T-shirt. The price is $33 shipped outside America ($25 within the USA).

On October 21, 2015 Marty McFly arrives in the future and on 23 October, he participates to the Marty Welcome Party! From 9PM until 6AM on the following day, join Marty at the Brussels Event Brewery for partying to the sound of the '80s, '90s and 2000s. There is something for everyone. Many surprises are planned including the presence of Marty and the mythical DeLorean! But there will also be cosplays, backdrops recalling the movies, giant screens and gifts. The party line-up includes all kinds of DJ: DJ KDR ('80), AKRO (Starflam), DJ Zwalla ('90) and DJ Monkey Foks (2000'). Arcade Belgium will be part of the event with 10 arcade machines equipped with games covering the years 80, 90 and 2000. Presale tickets cost €13 and €18 on-site. VIP tickets are also available in limited amount in presale. They cost €40 and provide access to the VIP bar and catering as well as a VIP photoshoot with the DeLorean. Two completely free shuttles will be present all night to take you from a parking downtown to the party and bring you back to your car.